The Pirate's New Groove
by caseyjsaisi
Summary: In this retell of Disney's 'The Emperor's New Groove', Emperor Hook is a evil man and gets what he desires. Meanwhile, Gothel is hatching a plan to usurp the throne. But, in a mix-up, Hook is magically transformed into a codfish. Now, Hook finds himself in the ocean, the home of Princess Ariel, where her people are at war with Hook.
1. Chapter 1

_**This is my 6th crossover story.**_

_**All characters and rights belong to Disney.**_

* * *

Long ago, somewhere deep in the ocean...

A red codfish with black hair and a pencil thin mustache sits all on the coral bed, sniffling.

And believe it or not, that codfish was once a human being. Well, not just a human being, the guy was an emperor. A self-proclaimed elegant, sophisticated, coiffed, genteel and distinguished man. Duh! He was the boss.

The codfish continued to cry, staring at his tail fins.

This is his story.

His name was Hook. Emperor James Hook.

He was the world's baddest guy and they entered his life for many reasons.

Who's 'they' you ask? And how did all of this happen? Well, let's go back to the very beginning and you'll see how it came to be.

* * *

In the cabin, a tall man was waiting as a smaller man polished a silver hook that replaced his left hand.

Aye. 'Tis he, the elegant Captain Hook.

He was born for swashbuckling, stripping ships, cutting throats and-

Whoa, I'm sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Hook was the emperor of this beautiful, shining palace. Everyone in it was under his command.

He had Smee as his butler, a chef for three square meals a day and he had his guards. They acted like pirates, but they were loyal to their emperor.

Though he ruled over the land, Hook was rude, hot tempered and selfish. Like the one time someone 'threw off his groove.'

_Hook was admiring himself when he bumped into Shorty, a small old man._

_"You old fool!" shouted Hook. "Why don't watch where you're going?! __Guards!"_

_The guards grabbed Shorty and threw him out the window._

_"SORRY!" cried the thug._

Ahem, as I was saying...

Hook thought of himself as a great man, the king of the world and wanted the world to know that.

One day, Hook was out on a stroll around the palace with Smee by his side.

"Mark my words, Mr. Smee" Hook began.

"Marking, sir!" Smee saluted.

"I am absolutely certain that those pesky merpeople are up to something. They keep stealing food on land and see me as the enemy! If it's a war they want, then that's what they'll get."

Hearing this, Smee was shocked and tried to reason with him.

"Um, e-e-emperor, sir?" Smee stammered. "Shouldn't we discuss with the merfolk about their thievery?"

"Aye, Mr. Smee" Hook replied, "but no merperson will be willing to talk to me."

Then, an idea hit Hook's head.

"That's it! One of Triton's daughters. She will tell us about the thievery."

"The princesses?!" gasped Smee. "But the princesses refuse to enter here."

"Oh, no? The youngest daughter has married a boy from the village and she may be the key to our success."

* * *

Outside the palace the next morning, a young couple were walking up the stairs; a man with black hair and a beautiful, young girl with long, red hair who looked heavily pregnant.

They are Ariel and Eric.

A guard approached them, eyes narrowing.

"Pardon us, we're here to see Emperor Hook" Eric said politely.

"Inside, up the stairs, to the left" the guard replied. "Just follow the signs."

"Oh, great."

Ariel smiled and thanked the guard.

Now, you see Ariel and Eric have recently been excited to be parents and they were summoned to the palace. Well, Ariel, mostly.

You see, Ariel is the youngest daughter of King Triton, king of the merfolk.

* * *

Inside the palace, someone stood in Hook's place on the throne.

"And why have you come here?" asked a voice to a villager named Monty.

"Well, Your Highness, I mean Your Grace" Monty began. "The reason I'm here is because the merfolk..."

The woman you're hearing is none other than Gothel, Hook's adviser. She may look young, but she really had a dark secret hiding in her eyes.

And let's not forget Gothel's beloved and loyal minions. They are Varian and Cassandra.

As you can probably imagine, Gothel has been stealing the throne behind Hook's back.

"I'm sorry, but it is no concern of mine whether you have food or not" Gothel answered Monty.

"But, my family are hungry!" Monty protested.

"Ha! You should have thought of it before you became peasants! We are finished here. Take him away!"

Two guards took hold of Monty and dragged him away as he struggled to fight out of their grip.

Gothel sighed, shaking her head.

"The nerve of those peasants" Varian glared.

"Tell me about it" agreed Cassandra.

Just then, Hook arrived.

"Your Majesty" Cassandra and Varian said in unison, bowing.

Gothel got up and chuckled nervously.

But Hook wasn't falling for Gothel's 'innocence.'

"I cannot believe it" he said, scowling. "You're stealing my throne again! Only I, Emperor James Hook, can sit on the royal throne. And you're the emperor's adviser, better to be seen and not heard."

"But, your Majesty, I was only dealing with meaningless matters" Gothel insisted. "Since you were occupied with the recent theft done by the merpeople, I thought I could..."

But as Gothel spoke, Cassandra and Varian noticed that the sun started to pour into the room and touched Gothel, causing her skin to slowly wrinkle and her hair turned grey (just a little bit).

Slightly panicking, Cassandra pulled Gothel out of the sunlight.

"What are you doing?" seethed the older woman.

"The sun is out again" whispered Cassandra.

Gasping, Gothel placed the hood of her cloak on, covering her wrinkles and grey hair.

Varian sighed in relief.

"What the blazers?! hollered Hook.

"Sorry, Your Majesty" Varian apologized. "She's hitting her stride."

Gothel and Cassandra glared at Varian, evilly. They wished that he didn't say that. Did he want them to get fired?

Just then, Smee entered the throne room.

"Excuse me, your Majesty" he said nervously. "The-the-the youngest daughter of King Triton and her husband are here to see you."

"Very well, Smee" replied Hook. "Send them in."

Gothel then backed away.

"Come on, Varian, Cassandra" she ordered. "We've got better things to do."

As they walked away, Hook sat in his throne, waiting.

Soon, Ariel and Eric entered the room.

"Afternoon, your Majesty" bowed Eric. "I'm Prince Eric and this is my wife, Ariel."

"You summoned me, sir?" asked Ariel.

Hook got up and approached them.

"Of course, milday" he said in a gentleman-like manner. "I was told that you, the youngest daughter of King Triton, became human."

"Well, yes" Ariel replied. "But I still become a mermaid whenever I set foot in the ocean."

"Good, then you can answer my question. We humans have been having food shortage in the marketplace. And I believe it was your people doing it. Why?"

He showed Ariel and Eric a map of the empire and the village.

"Oh, no one's been stealing" Eric ensured Hook. "All the merfolk are friendly creatures."

"Yes and we only take very little" added Ariel. "We have everything under the sea, we don't really need all the fruit and vegetables."

Hook frowned, he thought they were lying.

"As a matter of fact, my father wants the merpeople and I to be happy" Ariel continued. "We've been around for many generations."

Eric smiled and held Ariel's hand.

Hook nodded.

"Now tell me, princess, where do you sea dogs get the most sun?" asked Hook.

Ariel replied "I think just on the side of the coral reef. When the sun gleams above the water and beyond the reef, the sea sings her song."

Hearing this, Hook thought of something.

This made Eric a little suspicious.

"If you're still thinking my wife's family is stealing food, you're wrong" he said to Hook.

"I knew it was you, I can smell the salt from your hands!" Hook bellowed in anger.

Ariel wasn't going to put up with Hook's attitude about her people.

"We're not barbarians and we're not thieves!" protested the mermaid. "No other merperson can go near humans expect my family and me!"

"I gave you savages everything and this is the thanks I get?!" Hook argued.

"_You're_ the savage, Hook! You mistreat your kingdom the same way you treat my people! We do not want war!"

"So be it then! War will come upon you and the other merpeople."

This made Ariel even angry, but Eric held her back.

"Come on, Ariel" he said gently. "He's not worth it."

The two walked away.

Hook chuckled evilly. Everything was going his way now.

Or... so he thought.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**I know I need to finish Hiccup (Tarzan), but I'm in the process of working on the battle and ending. I will have it done soon.**_

_**In the meantime, enjoy this story and please review.**_


	2. Chapter 2

In her chamber within the palace, Gothel was enraged.

She paced as Cassandra swung her sword at punch dummies that resembled Hook and Varian just sat down, watching.

"Better to be seen and not heard! Who does that ungrateful sea breathed worm think he is?" Gothel seethed. "Does he have any idea of who he's dealing with?!"

Cassandra shook her head, still using her sword to slice punch dummies.

"He's a fool, Mom" Cassandra replied. "He shouldn't treat us like that. You both practically raised Varian and I."

"Yeah, we turned out better with you" Varian agreed. "It's great, you know. You two taking out your temper on these dummies instead of the real Hook."

This gave Varian an idea.

"Wait a minute. That's it!" he cried. "We'll get rid of Hook."

Cassandra and Gothel smiled, they loved the idea.

"It's perfect" said Gothel. "With him out of the way, I'll take over and rule the empire!"

Varian grinned evilly.

_I love it when they see how evil I am_ he thought to himself.

"To the secret lab!" Gothel announced.

Soon, the three ran to a door with two levers.

"Pull the lever, Varian."

As soon as Varian tried to pull a lever, it was stuck.

"Wrong lever" he muttered. "Why do we even have that?"

He then pulled the other lever and the trio were thrown into a roller coaster-like seat.

A loud announcer then spoke through a loud speaker.

"**Please remained seated and keep your arms and legs in at all times.**"

The seat started to move, running through animal faces and a tunnel.

Gothel, Cassandra and Varian didn't scream or even say 'whee!' They just sat in their seat until they landed in the secret lab, dressed in doctor's smocks.

"Now, how shall we do it?" chuckled Gothel. "I know, I'll turn him into a harmless, little flea and I'll smash it with a hammer!"

"Wait, I've got a better plan" Varian insisted. "We take a cannon, aim it at his bedchamber and we'll blow him up to smithereens!"

Cassandra shook her head, thinking it was a bad idea.

"That's how we'll get caught by the guards" Gothel replied.

Just then, a crocodile passed by, its eyes going up and down with the rhythm of an alarm clock.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock!

"Why do we even have him here?" groaned Cassandra.

Annoyed, Gothel slapped the crocodile, making him yelp and run away.

As he did, the crocodile's tail knocked a vial off the table and the liquid landed on a plant, it turned black and died.

Seeing this, Gothel, Varian and Cassandra shared evil grins. They were going to poison Hook.

"We're crossing the line now" Cassandra said with a sneer.

Varian took the vial, holding it high in the air.

"Our moment of triumph approaches!" Gothel cackled.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_**Sorry about the short chapter but I promise it will be longer in the next chapter.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I didn't want to make Varian and Cassandra idiots in the story, so I decided to add an animal character from Disney Junior's Jake and the Never Land Pirates to cause something **_**_drastic and chaotic but fun._**

* * *

Later that evening in the dining room, Varian carefully lit the candles that were set up on the table.

Cassandra and Gothel emerged from the closet, both dressed in fancy outfits.

"Is everything ready for tonight?" asked Cassandra.

"Yeah" nodded Varian. "I gotcha covered. I poured the poison into his glass and placed it at his side of the table."

Varian held a large glass in his hand.

"Yes" smiled Gothel. "I'll propose a toast and he'll be dead before dessert."

"Too bad" Varian replied.

"But I've always wanted to get back at Hook for giving me the boot every time I invented something for his case of hooks."

Cassandra and Varian chuckled at the idea, but Gothel frowned.

"It's...not funny" Cassandra said, doubtful. "Sorry, Mom."

At that moment, Hook entered and sat in his seat.

"Smee, I'm starving!" complained Hook.

Suddenly, his stomach grumbled in agreement.

"Oh, sounds like it's saying 'feed me' alright" Varian said with a playful grin.

"You blithering land pup!" Hook bellowed. "Quit lally-gagging and go find Smee!"

Cassandra cleared her throat and gestured the other room to Varian.

"Oh, yeah, right" he whispered. "Be right back."

As soon as Varian ran into the kitchen, for a while everything was so quiet.

Soon, Hook spoke with Gothel.

"Now... me dear adviser, are there no hard feelings for earlier?" he asked.

"None whatsoever" Gothel lied to the teeth. "So, what do you think of my daughter now she's twenty-two?"

"She seems lovely. Aren't we, me dear?"

Cassandra only laughed softly and then winked at the reader.

_Just watch, _she seemed to say, _It gets better._

Then, Smee came out with a tray of spinach puffs. Only it wasn't really Smee, it was Varian disguised to look like Smee.

"Spinach puffs, mateys" said the fake Smee.

Everyone else took some spinach puffs.

Cassandra took Varian aside.

"Did you take care of the butler?" she whispered.

"Yep" Varian replied. "I tied him up and threw him in the closet. He claimed he gave me the wrong drink, but I don't believe him."

"Good, we can't let that old man know our plan."

Then, Varian grabbed the other drinks and handed them to Cassandra and Gothel.

As soon as everyone got their drinks, Gothel then spoke.

"A toast to the Emperor!" she announced.

"Tonight, our beloved Emperor joins us at the table, so we can show our appreciation to the elegant and handsome ruler. His deeds may have been unforgiving. I pray to those...

* * *

Meanwhile in the kitchen closet, Smee was banging against the chair, trying to break free.

A small green creature appeared out of nowhere and broke the gag around Smee's mouth.

"Blinky, me beloved chameleon!" cried the butler. "I'm happy to _see_ you."

The chameleon giggled and then tried to free his master.

"No, no" Smee protested. "You must help the Emperor, he's in grave danger."

Understanding, Blinky slipped out of the closet and scurried through the ceiling of the palace.

* * *

Back in the dining room, Gothel was continuing to make her toast, much to Hook's boredom.

"But tonight, he will show the world that he's our one and only ruler of this kingdom. From tonight, the kingdom will be free from the merpeople scum. Long live Hook!"

"Long live Hook!" cheered Varian and Cassandra.

Unknown to them, however, Blinky (using his camouflage to be completely invisible) has managed to dump the poisoned drink over the table.

This made Hook react.

"Eeh, you mangy dog!" Hook screamed. "Smee!"

Hearing this, Varian tried to imitate Smee's voice.

"Uh, y-y-yes, your Majesty?" Varian 'stammered.'

"You spilled my wine! Fetch me another!"

"Aye, aye, sire! Right away!"

But as Varian poured more wine into the glass, a vial floated over the drink and poured itself in, mixing it with the drink.

That was, of course, Blinky's doing. Since he was a chameleon.

Varian gasped in shock.

"Hey, Varian, everything okay back there?" Cassandra asked nervously.

Thinking it was only his imagination, Varian brought the glass over to Hook.

"Sire" he bowed.

As Hook drank the wine, Varian winked at Gothel, who winked back.

"Ah, refreshing" sighed Hook, then...

BLAM!

Hook fell face first into his food.

"Finally!" Gothel laughed.

"Varian, you're a genius!" Cassandra said, hugging him.

The young boy felt impressed with these words, thinking he has become a hero in Gothel and Cassandra's eyes.

"Okay, we've gotta get rid of his body" Varian said finally.

* * *

As Gothel, Varian and Cassandra carried Hook's body in the hallway while everyone was asleep.

"Darn it, he's too heavy!" complained Varian.

"You're the one who said we've gotta get rid of the body, Varian" Cassandra snapped.

Gothel wasn't going to let her daughter and Varian fight all night, so she threw Hook to the ground.

"Enough, the both of you!" she seethed. "I've had enough with this bickering! One more word and you two will be grounded for life!"

Just then, Hook sat up.

"Oi, what the blazers is going on here?!" he said with a scowl.

This made Gothel gasp in surprise.

"Um, um, we were just making a toast to your long and healthy rule" she said nervously. "But then, Cassandra and Varian wanted to play-"

At that moment, Hook's arms suddenly became fins and his steel hook fell off his left arm.

"Play carry the Emperor" Gothel finished, her eyes narrowing.

Even Varian and Cassandra noticed something was wrong.

Questions ran through their minds; Why isn't he dead? Why is he growing fins? What's going on?!

"Of course, the scurvy brats want to play" Hook said. "Now isn't the best time."

His legs fused together, turning into a fish's tail and ripping his pants and socks as it happened.

This made Gothel even more worried than she was, she cleared her throat to Varian.

Getting the idea, Varian grabbed the steel hook.

"Now, go get Smee and tell him to clean up the mess down stairs" ordered Hook, his skin turning into red scales.

"Yes, sire" groaned Cassandra.

But Varian hit Hook on the head and the Emperor-turned codfish went unconscious.

"What?! A codfish?!" Gothel shouted. "He's supposed to be dead!"

"Yeah, weird" Varian frowned.

Cassandra grew furious and pinned Varian against the wall.

"What happened to the poison after it spilled?" she demanded. "Did you poured more in?"

"No, but a vial floated above and pour this" Varian answered.

Gothel snatched the vial, seeing that it's an extract of codfish, not poison.

"It must have been those stupid mice again!" she growled. "They traded you the poison for codfish extract!"

This made Varian mad, he seethed in anger and kicked Hook's giant fish body.

"Do you propose we do now, Mom?" Cassandra asked.

"Take him out of town and finish the job!" Gothel ordered.

_**To be continued...**_


	4. Chapter 4

Varian and Cassandra sneaked past the guards with a bag in their arms. It had Hook inside.

Soon, they reached a small stream that was heading out of the palace.

"Ready?" Cassandra asked.

"Ready" answered Varian.

They both lifted up the bag and swung it...

"One... two... three."

...and tossed the bag into the stream with a splash.

"Mission accomplished" grinned Cassandra, leaving.

But Varian stayed behind, wondering if they did the right thing and then he left too.

The bag floated down the stream and then it went over the edge.

It went down, down, down the waterfall until it landed in a rowboat. Ariel and Eric's boat in fact.

But the prince and princess were busy placing stuff into the rowboat that they didn't see the bag.

"Oh, no, what are we going to tell my family, Eric?" Ariel asked, her voice filed with dread.

"Don't worry, Ariel, we'll think of something" Eric replied, trying to give his wife hope.

"Well, that's just rude of Hook. He wants war on us mermen and mermaids. I don't care if he's busy at the moment, I would march right back there and make him stop the war."

"Sweetie, sweetie, think of the baby."

"Eric... You're right. I'm sorry, I'm just wound up. Let's just go home."

Ariel knew that the baby wasn't coming for a while, but even if it was, she would defend her family and the baby from Hook.

Then, they rowed away from the village and far toward the ocean.

The moon was bright and all was quiet.

Once they reached a coral reef, Ariel and Eric dove into the water. They both became merpeople!

The couple laughed and then swam toward Atlantica, the home of the merpeople.

* * *

Meanwhile, Triton and his wife Athena were waiting for Ariel to get home.

Their other six daughters were also waiting for Ariel. They were having a slumber party.

"Don't look now, but dinner exploded on your face" mocked Andrina.

"No, it's not!" protested Alana. "It's plankton extract and sea salt. It rejuvenates the skin and it won't clog your pores."

"Uh, is that my mask?" Aquata asked Arista.

"Nope" her sister replied. "It's got my initial on it."

Attina, the eldest sister, scoffed.

"All of our names start with 'A', Arista."

Just then, Eric and Ariel entered.

"Hello!" called Ariel.

Excited, the mersisters hugged their younger sister tightly.

Eric greeted Triton and Athena.

"How was the trip?" asked Athena.

"It was good" Eric said, smiling.

"And Ariel?" Triton grinned mischievously.

"She's great! Well, she had a few kicks from the baby, but otherwise okay."

Triton and Athena were proud of Ariel and Eric. They were going to be grandparents.

Soon, the mersisters quickly swam to bed.

"Good night, Father, Mother!" they called.

Laughing, Ariel swam to her parents and hugged them.

"So what did the emperor want?" Athena asked with a smile.

"He thought we were stealing food from land" Ariel answered.

Triton was enraged to hear this, his trident glowing darkly.

"That Emperor has always been a bad one" the old merman said angrily. "He would only start a war on us and ruin our kingdom."

"He just started planning his war" Eric replied sadly.

Triton growled like an angry bull, but Athena calmed her husband down.

"I'm sure there's some mistake, Triton" Athena said gently. "We merpeople never steal from humans."

"I know, but we can't let Hook destroy our beautiful home" Triton replied. "He's rude, conceited, arrogant, egoistical, selfish and uncaring."

Ariel was upset, but she had an idea.

"Eric, can you please stay with my family?" she asked.

"Sure" answered Eric. "You're going back to the Emperor, aren't you?"

"I know it may not go well, but I have to set things right."

She then swam away.

This made Eric and Triton nervous. How could Ariel talk to Hook when she's pregnant and all by herself?

"Triton, she's just like you" Athena cooed softly. "She's old enough to decide her choices."

"I know, Athena" sighed Triton. "That's what frightens me."

Eric decided not to get in Ariel's way and stayed with the family.

* * *

Outside Atlantica, Ariel swam toward the rowboat floating above the surface when she noticed the bag moving.

Curious, Ariel opened the bag and found Hook inside.

"Where'd you come from, little guy?" she asked.

As she gently touched him, Hook slapped her away.

"Get away from me!" he screamed.

Ariel backed away, giving Hook space.

"Okay, codfish, it's okay" she cooed. "I mean you no harm."

The codfish then gained his senses and snarled, recognizing Ariel.

"Wait, I know you" he scowled. "You're the fishy princess!"

The voice made Ariel realize who the codfish really was.

"Emperor Hook?" gasped Ariel. "How did you...?"

"What?!" snapped Hook. "Why are you staring at me like I have two heads?"

This made Ariel a bit uncomfortable, she wasn't sure how to explain to him. Then, she pushed Hook's head toward the ocean to make him see his reflection.

Hook gasped in shock and examined his entire body, falling into the ocean and shouting:

"No. No, no! No! What's going on? What?!"

His tail then emerged from the water and wiggled back and forth.

Hook screamed with terror!

"What's happened to me?! I'm a codfish!" he wailed.

Ariel was concerned and tried to comfort him.

"How did you... become this?" she asked gently.

Hook was too busy panicking and tried to stand up on his fins on the rowboat, only to fall back into the ocean.

"I don't remember" he said in a panicky voice.

"But I remember you and your husband... And I remember telling you two that I was going to attack your people and you're mad at me- OH! And you turned me into a codfish!"

"No, I didn't!" Ariel protested.

"And you kidnapped me!"

"Why would I kidnap my fellow sea creatures?"

"I haven't got the foggiest idea! You're the criminal mastermind, not me."

"What?"

Ariel then realized that Hook has Gothel as an adviser who was not young and heard stories from the villagers on land of Gothel plotting against the emperor.

"We've got to get you back to the palace" she said to Hook.

"Aye, Varian will change me back, he is an alchemist" Hook agreed.

Anxious, Hook struggled to swim properly but went belly-up.

"Princess, I want to get out of this body, let's go" Hook ordered.

As Hook continued to 'swim', Ariel thought this over. It's in her to help others but Hook was a rude man... well, fish and she couldn't help him unless he'd leave the merpeople alone.

Then, she finally spoke.

"Admit that merpeople are NOT thieves. I can't help you unless you admit you're wrong and that you'll leave my people alone."

Angry, Hook swam up to Ariel's face.

"I DON'T MAKE DEALS WITH FISH PEOPLE!" Hook screamed.

"Then I can't help you" Ariel replied calmly.

"Fine! I'll find my own way back, I don't need you."

As Hook swam away, Ariel then remembered something important.

"Wait!" she cried. "The ocean is dangerous if you don't know the way."

But the codfish was stubborn and ignored Ariel's warning as he swam far, far away from the reef.

"I'm not kidding" Ariel warned. "There's sharks, and octopuses, and kelp. Stop! Please! You can't go in there!"

Hook, however, has already gone into the deepest part of the ocean, far from Atlantica.

Ariel was angry and allowed Hook to leave.

"Fine, go ahead!" she yelled.

_If there's no Hook, our people will be safe_ she thought to herself.

Yep, it looked like that took care of her problem.

However when Ariel was about to dive back into the ocean, she stopped and realized that she can't let her anger and pride take over her good heart.

She had to go after him.

_**To be continued...**_


	5. Chapter 5

Hook swam far from the reef and into the darkest parts of the ocean. He was confident that he can find his way back to the palace without Ariel's help, but what he didn't know was that he was going the wrong way.

"Who does she think she is?" Hook said to himself.

"That blasted mermaid thinks I'm stupid! 'Never find my way' I'm the emperor. I can find my way back without assisstan..."

He was cut off when he heard low growling. It sounded like sharks were watching him.

Then, a small crab walked past him when an orange octopus grabbed it.

"Help me, help me!" cried the crab.

CHOMP! Too late.

"Yum!" the octopus replied.

It frightened Hook so bad that he swam toward a trench and was about to swim over it.

"Hey, you" shouted a voice.

Hook jumped and turned to see a school of moonfish behind him.

"What do you want?" Hook demanded.

"Look, I wouldn't do that if I were you" said the moonfish. "If anyone comes to this trench, you gotta swim _through_ _it_, not over it."

"Swim through it? It's too dark and I could get barnacles on my skin."

"I'm sorry, pal. It's really, really important that you swim through that trench."

"And I'm really, really tired of your blabbering. Goodbye."

He began to swim over the trench, making the moonfish panic and trying to warn him.

"No! No, don't go up there!" they cried. "It's dangerous! They'll kill you!"

But Hook ignored them and reached the top.

"Finally" he said with a grin.

Hook was about to check from the surface when...

A tiny jellyfish zapped his tail.

"Ow!" wailed Hook. "Blistering blue barnacles!"

Seeing that the jellyfish wouldn't leave, Hook had no choice but to inhale and blow out bubbles to send the jellyfish away.

As he turned to leave, Hook gasped and realized that he had stumbled into a jellyfish forest. Luckily, they were asleep but not for long. Uh-oh.

He tried to swim away but accidentally bumped into the tiny jellyfish, who zapped him again.

"Ow!" Hook screamed. "Save me!"

That woke up the jellyfish and they surrounded Hook, they were getting ready to attack him.

Hook swam for his life, screaming with the jellyfish chasing him in hot pursuit.

He wanted to scream for Smee's help, but he remembered that he was in the ocean and the ocean is a place where he's not gonna be rescued by his butler.

Finally, the jellyfish blocked his path and circled Hook, their tentacles close to his scales.

Suddenly...

"ENOUGH!"

Ariel stood in front of Hook, protecting him from the jellyfish surrounding them.

"Leave him alone!" Ariel ordered. "By the order of Princess Ariel, daughter of King Triton!"

The jellyfish stopped circling and bowed respectfully.

"This innocent codfish has done nothing to you and I hope you can understand that."

Hook was impressed as the disappointed jellyfish swam away, then Ariel grabbed his fin and she dragged him away.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I gotcha" she said, smiling. "You're safe now."

"You wouldn't let them do me in" Hook said breathlessly. "But Emperor Hook never asks for help!"

"No, no, no. I know, but it's all right. We can figure this out."

Suddenly, the two found themselves caught in a current.

"Or not" Ariel gasped, realizing her mistake.

"I hate you" Hook moaned.

The current swept them far, far, far away, Hook screamed with fear but Ariel loved it, chuckling gently.

She helped him dodge at the incoming rocks and then they found themselves spat out of the ocean and into the air, laughing.

"That was... fun" Hook said. "I actually loved that!"

"I knew you would" Ariel replied, then she realized something. "Uh-oh."

"Don't tell me. We're about to go back into the ocean."

"Yep."

"Sharp rocks at the bottom?"

"Most likely."

Hook's eyes went wide and gulped.

"Bring it on" he muttered.

Ariel and Hook went over the waterfall, screaming and landed back in the ocean.

When they opened their eyes, Ariel and Hook were not hurt.

"Yes!" laughed Ariel. "We made it!"

But Hook didn't laugh. He really thought they were going to die.

"No, Hook, I'm not trying to lie to you" Ariel tried to say, "I know we could have died but we're not."

Hook ignored her and swam off.

Ariel frowned.

She knew she didn't mean to upset Hook. All she did was look on the bright side of what happened and she wasn't dumb about it.

* * *

Later that night, Ariel started making camp, which in fact was surrounded by beautiful, glowing bioluminescent plants that glowed like campfire on land.

Hook was trying to straighten his hair and mustache but being in the ocean, it floated all around in water rather than brushed down.

"I haven't seen anything this wonderful in my entire life" exclaimed Ariel, pointing out the plants.

But Hook ignored her.

"Aye, it is wonderful" he said proudly. "now that you're here, you will take me back to the palace. I'll have Varian change me back, and then I'll plan war on the merfolk."

Ariel didn't want to go through that conversation again. She tried to reason with Hook.

"Look, I think we're getting on the wrong fin here" she said.

"I think you're making a big mistake. Merpeople are not thieves and we will never be. But I think deep down, you'll realize that you're hurting an entire colony of innocent creatures."

"Lies" Hook replied.

"No, it's the truth" Ariel answered gently. "No one is really heartless."

"Aye, expect me. Now take me back!"

"What? How can you be this way?"

Ariel tried to convince Hook that he was selfish and rude.

"I don't care" Hook snapped. "Everyone else in the kingdom gets the idea. You're the only one that doesn't seem to be with the program, eh, Princess?"

"You know one day you're going to end up all by yourself" Ariel responded, "and you'll have nobody to blame but yourself."

"Perish the thought! I'll remember that, but for now I DEMAND YOU TAKE ME BACK TO THE PALACE, PRINCESS!"

Having enough of Hook's stubbornness, Ariel turned her tail on him.

Then, she spoke.

"You're stuck out here with me" Ariel said without even looking. "And unless you change your mind, I'm not taking you back. And one more thing, my name is Ariel."

Hook was horrified, then seethed in anger. Everything wasn't going his way like it used to be.

He then rested on a coral bed, wondering how he will get out of the ocean.

Ariel sadly watched as Hook tried to sleep his problems away, she shook her head.

_He's not going to change his mind_ she thought to herself.

As the night went on, Ariel was dimming some of the plants so she could sleep, but then she heard Hook whimpering and shivering in his sleep.

The codfish was not used to his new scales and was freezing.

Ariel thought she could ignore him, but she knew that she couldn't let him freeze to death.

So, she swam up to the surface, pulled a giant leaf off a bush and placed it over Hook's body. He stopped shivering.

Smiling, Ariel swam away and slept on the sand.

Hook stared at Ariel with confusion and his mind was full of questions.

_If she doesn't like me, then why did she save me from the jellyfish? Why does she care? Why?_

He didn't know, but he laid down his head and fell back to sleep.

_**To be continued...**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**For those who have listened to the soundtrack to The Emperor's New Groove on Spotify or on YouTube, I assure you that you'll find Yzma's song somewhere in this chapter.**_

* * *

Meanwhile back in the palace, there was only darkness and servants mourning their beloved emperor's 'death.'

Since Hook was gone, Gothel was now empress of the palace.

And of course, if was anyone who were still loyal to Hook were banished from the palace, only a few stayed behind and served their new empress.

Cassandra was promoted as Captain of the Guard while Varian remained an alchemist.

After the first five hours of their new ruler's reign, Cassandra and Varian were brought before Gothel.

"Cassandra, Varian" she said in a gentle voice. "I must admit you had me worried when you mixed up those poisons, but now that Hook is dead, all is forgiven."

"The fault was the mice, but yeah, Hook's dead" Varian replied, almost worried.

Gothel turned to the mirror beside her throne and noticed that she was aging again despite the darkness of the palace.

"Hmm, Cassandra, remind Mommy to place more powder on herself" she ordered.

"Yes, Mother" Cassandra nodded.

Varian was confused. All the curtains were closed and the entire palace was dark as night, then why was Gothel still aging?

"Your Majesty, I've been meaning to ask you, but why do you hate the sun?" he asked her.

"Well, my dear Varian" Gothel began.

"When a woman acquires a certain age and the men who adored you no longer swoon, it pays to avoid the sunlit days and live by the moonlight. My youth has been stolen and I've planned for endless days to take revenge on the sun."

"Revenge on the sun?" frowned Varian.

Suddenly, Gothel rose up at her feet and started to sing.

"Here she goes again" muttered Cassandra.

_**'When I was a girl at my daddy's side**_

_**'Papa, the royal mortician**_

_**'Revealed to me in secret signs**_

_**'The mark of the magician**_

_**'And daddy was no dummy**_

_**'Did outrageous things with a mummy**_

_**'And often the stiffs that he would shrive**_

_**'Would look better dead than they did alive**_

_**'I studied well; I learnt the trade**_

_**'I thought my looks would never fade**_

_**'If I could find that recipe**_

_**'To give eternal youth to me**_

_**'It was always my ambition**_

_**'To use Papa's tuition**_

_**'And gain some small remission**_

_**'From the vagaries of time**_

_**'Every little ray of sunshine robs me of my youth**_

_**'Who to blame? Who the one? Who to curse?**_

_**'You know the only one to blame would be my enemy, the sun**_

Suddenly, a group of statues sprang to life and sang and danced with Gothel.

'_**Snuff out the light**_

_**'Claim your right**_

_**'To a world of darkness**_

_**'Snuff out the light**_

_**'Neophytes**_

_**'Of a world of darkness**_

Cassandra then made some black rocks rise until it formed an image of Supai, the Ican god of Darkness.

_**'Supai, baby, turn me on **_Gothel sang with pride

_**'Every wrinkle soon be gone**_

_**'I could squeeze myself with glee**_

_**'The promises you made to me**_

_**'I've really stopped at nothing**_

_**'Murder, treachery and lying**_

_**'Whatever it takes to keep my looks**_

_**'You really can't blame a girl for trying**_

Varian gasped in shock but Cassandra shrugged as if to say 'well, why not?'

_**'Snuff out the light**_

_**'Claim your right**_

_**'To a world of darkness**_

_**'Snuff out the light,**_

_**'Neophytes**_

_**'Of a world of darkness**_

Gothel continued to dance with her statues and Cassandra, who was dancing but not enthusiastically.

Unknown to them however, Varian sneaked down the stairs and ran out of the room.

Cassandra couldn't help but notice her friend leaving and she quietly followed him.

Gothel and the statues continued to sing.

_**'Snuff out the light**_

_**'Claim your right**_

_**'To a world of darkness**_

_**'Snuff out the light here tonight**_

_**'Apparitions of eternal darkness**_

_**'Spiraling in circles through the night**_

_**'Creatures of beguiling blackness**_

_**'No more squinting in the light**_

_**'Bats and owls and coiled sea dragons**_

_**'Crocodile and carrion beasts**_

_**'Swirling in the growing darkness**_

_**'Join us in the coming feast**_

_**'Spectre, wraith and apparition**_

_**'Spirit, demon, phantom, shade**_

_**'Salamander serpents, dog-faced devils**_

_**'Dance and watch the dying sunlight fade!'**_

After they finished singing, the statues froze in place.

It was only then that Gothel has realized that Varian was gone.

"Varian? Varian!" Gothel called. "That boy has been acting strange lately."

Meanwhile in the hallway, Varian sighed in relief.

"I've got to warn somebody and tell them about her" he said. "Though I'll admit, the song was catchy, but the choreography was terrible."

* * *

Down in the village, the banished servants were sulking.

"I can't believe Hook is dead" sighed the chef sadly.

"Me neither" agreed another servant.

Smee then remembered something and turned to his pet chameleon.

"Blinky, do you know what happened to the Emperor?" he asked.

The small chameleon nodded and tried to act out the scene, catching the servants' attention. They thought he wanted to play charades.

"What? What is it, Smee?" they asked.

"Blinky's turnin' to tell us what happened to the Emperor" Smee replied.

The chameleon pretended to gulp down something.

"He's poisoned? No, he's choking! He was drinking something!" the servants said randomly.

Blinky squeaks 'yes', then plopped onto the ground.

"He's dead! Tell us Hook is not dead! He fell asleep! No, no, no, wait! He started to feel woozy!"

"He fell unconscious!" Smee answered.

Blinky squealed, then acted out as Smee repeated the chameleon's squeaks.

"He said that Gothel, Varian and Cassandra dragged Hook out of the dining room" he began.

"They were fighting, then the Emperor woke up and he started to turn into a giant codfish and then... WHAM! Varian knocked him out cold and..."

The servants gasped when they heard a voice.

"Gothel was behind all this!"

It was Varian, who approached the servants.

"She wanted Hook dead, so she can have power and snuff out the sun!" he cried. "But I know is Hook is still alive!"

"HE'S STILL ALIVE?!" gasped the servants.

"Well, he's not as dead as they would have hoped."

Smee could tell that Varian didn't want to be part of Gothel's plan. Heck, he was only a kid working for a bad guy. It doesn't always end well.

"Well, we-we- We must find the Emperor and bring him back" Smee said nervously.

"And I'm coming with you, Mr. Smee" Varian said, encouragingly. "I think I know where he could have gone."

* * *

Back in Atlantica, Triton and Eric were worried as they paced inside the palace, waiting for Ariel at the open window.

Athena was worried for her husband and son-in law. She swam up to them.

"I have never felt so worried about her" Triton said. "Should she run into a water current and swimming out of control..."

"She would never do that on purpose" Athena cooed gently. "Ariel will be fine."

Eric smiled at Athena, knowing she was right. Then he swam away from the window and into a guest bedroom.

"When do you suppose she'll be back?" Athena asked.

"I don't know" Triton replied. "She has never been gone for so long before. I'm just worried she and our first grandchild will die out in the ocean."

"I'm worried too, but we can't swim all night. It will only make it worse than it is now."

"You're right, dear. You're right."

The king and queen swam away from the window. It was going to be a long night for them.

_**To be continued...**_


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Ariel woke up and climbed on a rock on the surface, feeling the morning breeze blow on her.

_Fresh air_ she thought to herself.

Then, she heard a throat clearing.

Hook poked his head out of the ocean and laid his head against the rock.

"Good morning" Ariel greeted. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept like a rock" Hook replied.

"Good."

Then, there was a long silence.

At last Hook finally spoke, finally noticing Ariel's pregnant belly.

"Are you expecting a child?"

"Yes, hopefully soon" Ariel said.

"Is it a boy?"

"No, the doctor said it will be a girl."

This made Hook soften a little.

The princess was protecting her family, even if she was with child.

"I was thinking that when I got back to the palace, we'd, I mean, there's lots of kingdoms to attack, and maybe I might..."

"Are you saying...you've changed your mind?" asked Ariel. "Because you know that means you're doing something nice for someone else."

Hook nodded his head silently.

Surprised of the change in Hook, Ariel slid off the rock and swam up to Hook.

"And you're all right with that?" she asked again.

"Aye" Hook replied.

"Shake on it? It will tell me that you mean it."

Ariel then extended her hand.

Hook thought for a moment, then shook his fin with Ariel.

"Come on, let's get you back to the palace" she said. "Oh, by the way, thanks."

"No...thank you" Hook said smugly.

* * *

Later in a shipwreck graveyard, Ariel and Hook swam through the cracked spaces, avoiding sharp glass and broken wood pillars.

"Once we get through the shipwreck graveyard, it will only be an hour to the palace" Ariel said to Hook.

"Good" Hook responded. "And once I'm human again, I must get the salty water and brine off me skin."

"The ocean isn't that bad."

Suddenly, Ariel found herself caught in a net.

"Hook!" she called. "Hook!"

The codfish saw his chance to get away from the mermaid.

"Yes?" asked Hook nonchalantly.

"Please, untangle me" Ariel said.

But Hook swam around the net with a smug smile.

"Perish the thought" he said. "I prefer not to."

Ariel was shocked of what she heard, but she knew sooner or later that Hook would do something bad.

"So, you're leaving me here" she said bitterly. "I thought you were a changed man."

"I had to say something to get you to bring me back to the palace" Hook gloated.

"I knew you would go back on your word. I maybe playful to most people, but I'm not stupid to see the truth. We shook hands on it!"

"Well, me dear princess, Captain Hook never breaks a promise, but I don't have hands."

Ariel glared at Hook as he showed his fins, then turned to swim away.

"Goodbye, princess" he finally said.

But as he began to swim away, Hook eventually got tangled in kelp which tightened his body and tail.

"Are you okay?" Ariel asked.

"Oh, aye. Yes." Hook said, almost panicking.

"Good."

She then gave Hook a slap on the cheek.

"That was for going back on your promise" she glared.

Hook attempted to hit Ariel back, but he couldn't since the kelp had a tight grip on his body.

"If I had me hand and hook back" he said. "I would get you for kidnapping me and taking me to your kingdom!"

Ariel was enraged and manged to grab a knife, cutting herself out of the net.

She then swam up to Hook.

"I don't know why do I risk my life for a selfish man like you" she scolded. "I could have let you die in the dangerous part of the ocean, but my people do not harm humans unless they are cruel as you."

"Let's end this" the codfish growled.

But Ariel didn't want to fight and kept a safe distance from the struggling Hook.

Suddenly, a swarm of sharks peered through the holes of the shipwreck.

Hook screamed with fear and tried to swim away, but remained tangled up.

"Save me! Don't let them get me please!" pleaded the codfish. "Don't let them get me!"

Ariel wasn't going to give up on Hook and she started to tear the kelp off of Hook.

"Don't worry, we're not gonna die" she said gently. "I have an idea but we're gonna have to work together to get out of this."

Then, the mermaid took Hook's fin and placed them on her tail.

"Now, hold on tight and follow my lead. Ready?"

Hook whimpered and shook his head. "No!"

"Go."

At instant, Ariel started swimming with Hook holding on to her, they twisted and turned whenever they encountered tight spaces.

"Look, we're moving!" cried Hook.

He then looked back and saw the sharks, they growled at him.

The codfish screamed in terror.

"Don't look back" Ariel coaxed gently. "Now, stay with me."

The two continued to swim until they were out of the path of sharks.

"Now what?" moaned Hook.

Ariel was working on what to do next, then she noticed an underwater geyser that led to the surface.

"Okay, here's the deal" Ariel finally said to Hook. "Tie the remaining kelp around our waists and I'll swim to the geyser."

"How do you know we're not going to die?" Hook demanded.

"You're just gonna have to trust me!"

Hook tied the kelp around his and Ariel's waist as the mermaid slowly swam to the geyser, testing the pressure.

"Ugh, we'll have to wait for a while" said Ariel.

Hearing this, Hook sulked to the bottom. He didn't like waiting more than anything.

But then, he felt something crawling on his scales. He looked down and found...

"SEA SLUGS!" shrieked Hook.

He swam so fast that he nearly pulled Ariel away from the geyser.

The mermaid grabbed the codfish and swung him back to the geyser, accidentally getting his mouth stuck in the opening.

"Oh, blast" Hook tried to say.

Suddenly green eels swam for the geyser, their hungry eyes on the struggling Hook.

Ariel gasped and used her tail to fight the eels until they swam away, whimpering like dogs.

Since Hook's mouth was blocking the hole, the water from geyser started to pressure his mouth until he and Ariel went flying straight up to the surface.

They landed on a rock, surprised of what has happened but they laughed it off.

And then suddenly, the edge of the rock suddenly started to crack and Ariel was gonna fall into the ocean, just as the geyser was about to go off again.

Suddenly, Hook pulled Ariel away from the edge and the rock crumbled down into the ocean, then was blasted up into the air by the geyser and off into the distance.

After a moment, Ariel stared at Hook, stunned.

"What?" growled the codfish.

"You just saved my life" replied the mermaid, almost speechless.

"So?"

"I knew that there is some good in you after all."

"Me? The brilliant Emperor Hook? No!"

"I think there is, I mean you could have let me fall."

"No, it's not a big deal! Nobody is that heartless."

Realizing what he said, Hook realized that Ariel was right. The mermaid smiled brightly.

"Don't get all mushy, Princess" Hook finally said. "It was an accidental heroic effort."

Ariel shrugged it over, then dived back into the ocean.

"We better get going. After that mishap, it's a four-day travel to the palace."

Hook's eyes widened with surprise as he slid down the rock and splashed into the ocean.

"You mean you're still taking me back?" he asked.

"I shook on my promise, didn't I?" Ariel said with a smile.

"Well, don't give your hopes up, that doesn't change anything. I still hate merpeople."

"Okay, but four days is a long time. Who knows? Maybe you'll change your ways."

The two started swimming away from the shipwrecks and into the horizon.

"Oh, and so you know" Ariel said to Hook, "I brought you to the shipwrecks on purpose."

"WHAT?!" bellowed Hook.

"I did see the smug on your face when you thanked me earlier. I'm not stupid. I just wanted to teach you a lesson."

"Fine, but don't ever do that again!"

Ariel chuckled softly as they continued on their quest.

* * *

Meanwhile back in the palace...

"He's still alive?!" Gothel screamed.

"Yes, Mother" Cassandra replied. "I saw Varian leave us during your number and I spied on the servants in secret. He and Smee have gone after Hook."

Enraged, Gothel smashed a vial to the ground.

"That boy!" she growled. "Always being a smart alack! Cassandra, pipe up a boat for two!"

"Yes, Mother" bowed Cassandra.

"We're going to the ocean to find Hook and finish him off!"

_**Will Gothel and Cassandra proceed in their evil mission? Will Smee and Varian find Hook? Can Hook and Ariel make it back to the palace before it's TOO LATE?!**_

_**To be continued...**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**I added another animal character from another Disney Junior show and this time, Lumba-Lumba from The Lion Guard.**_

* * *

Varian and Smee were out of luck. They searched high and low tide and every corner of the ocean, but no codfish Hook.

"Where can he be?" Smee asked nervously like a worried hen.

"I don't know" shrugged Varian. "But we mustn't give up, it won't be long for Gothel and Cassandra to find."

"We need help. But there's no one who can help us."

Varian thought it over. They do need help but he knew that the merpeople won't help them since they were apart of Hook's empire. Then, he remembered something.

"Wait, we can get help from the animals from the ocean" he said excitedly.

"Oh, yes, sea animals!" Smee agreed.

Removing his glove, Varian dipped his hand in the ocean, wetting his fingers. Once his hand was wet, he had Smee hold up a glass. He then slid his fingers on the glass, it made a squeaky sound similar to a whale's call.

After a moment, Varian and Smee felt a bump underneath their rowboat.

"Whoa!" exclaimed the two.

"What was that?" gasped Smee.

An Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin emerged from the ocean and chattered.

"Oh, my" Smee gasped again.

"It's a _Sousa chinensis_, an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin" smiled Varian.

"What a beauty."

The dolphin, whose name was Lumba-Lumba, chattered as if to communicate with Varian.

"Uh, yeah" Varian answered. "We're looking for a giant codfish. Red scales, black hair and a pencil-thin mustache."

Lumba-Lumba thought it over and nodded her head.

"She says she has seen him!" smiled Varian. "Where?"

The dolphin chattered and pointed...

"South?" Smee asked.

"It must be" Varian said, hopefully. "She even said that Princess Ariel saved him from a school of jellyfish and they were heading swimming away from the shipwreck graveyard."

"Oh, dear."

"Thanks, little dolphin."

Lumba-Lumba waved goodbye as Varian and Smee started to row away, resuming their quest to find Hook.

_**To be continued...**_


	9. Chapter 9

Not far away in the woods, Gothel and Cassandra were looking for Hook too! Unfortunately, they had no luck either.

"No, no, no!" growled Gothel. "We've searched every village and body of water surrounding the palace and yet there is still no sign of Hook. Where is he?"

Cassandra used her Moonstone powered sword to cut down trees and vines as they marched through the woods.

"Ugh, I hate this jungle" Cassandra said to herself softly.

As they walked on a log, two eyes peered at Gothel and Cassandra.

Suddenly, the 'log' began to move, growled savagely and threw them off its back.

Once they hit the ground, a large green sea crocodile growled at them.

"Uh-oh" Cassandra said nervously. "A crocodile."

The crocodile growled, trying to scare Cassandra and Gothel but to no avail.

"You don't scare us" Gothel said.

They walked away from the crocodile and noticed the footprints of Ariel and Eric that led to the ocean.

"Of course, merpeople have always saved people from their watery graves" Gothel grinned evilly. "Princess Ariel must have rescued Hook and brought him to the ocean."

"But why would she take him?" Cassandra wondered. "All the merfolk hate Hook ever since he has declared war on them. Claiming them as thieves for stealing food from the kingdom."

"They were never the thieves, Cassandra. It was only Hook's opinion of what he hears."

"Who do you think the thief is?"

"I don't know... and I don't care. A real ruler cares for themselves, not their loyal subjects."

Thinking it over, Cassandra stretched out her hand and black rocks sprouted from the ground, acting as a bridge for her and her mother.

"They will show us which way Hook went" she said to Gothel.

"Excellent" Gothel chuckled darkly.

Both mother and daughter ran on the bridge and across the ocean, smiling evilly. They were going to finish what they have started.

Once they reached the other side, Cassandra used her sword to destroy the bridge.

"What about Varian?" Cassandra asked. "Shouldn't we do him in?"

"Forget Varian" Gothel snapped. "He doesn't matter anymore! Hook's death is important. If the kingdom learns the truth, I will turn to dust. All we know is Varian is probably talking with some chipmunks or something."

* * *

Elsewhere...

"Yeah, we saw them not long ago" chattered Chip, a chipmunk. "We were out here on the beach, swimming when we saw them flying out of the ocean."

"Uh, yeah, a pretty mermaid and a big fish!" agreed his brother, Dale.

Varian and Smee were concerned.

"Did they say where they were heading?" asked Varian.

The two chipmunks shook their heads.

"No but they said something about a four day swim to the palace."

Smee sighed in relief. His emperor was coming back after all.

"Thanks, guys" Varian said cheerfully.

Smee rowed away from the beach and back into the ocean.

"So, we return to the servants and tell them the news" Varian said to Smee.

"Yes, the boys will be so pleased" replied the butler.

"We better hurry."

_**To be continued...**_


	10. Chapter 10

In the ocean, Hook and Ariel sat on a rock, relaxing underneath the warm sun. They had to stop because of...

"Tail cramp?" asked Ariel.

"Aye, I'm not used to this tail" Hook replied.

"Don't worry, you're getting better at it. We should probably get something to eat."

"But there is no marketplace nearby."

"No, but I think I know someone who owns a diner."

The two swam off into the distance.

* * *

Later, Hook and Ariel arrived at a diner, Tiana's Palace, by the seashore but there was a sign over the door that stated 'no animals allowed.'

Ariel then made a decision to go in by herself and order a meal.

She stepped on land and became human.

"Hello, Tiana!" she called.

The owner of the diner, Tiana, saw Ariel and smiled.

"Ariel, it's good to see you again!" she greeted.

"Yeah, me too."

The two women hugged each other.

"How's Eric?" asked Tiana.

"He's doing fine and we're going to be parents!" Ariel said excitedly.

"Congrats! And bless you for coming out in public."

After a while, Ariel ordered a meal to take out for her and a 'friend' for a picnic.

"So that will be two specials" Tiana said, writing down Ariel's order. "Hot gumbo and crispy chicken for a picnic trip. Mazel tov."

Ariel paid for the meals and ate outside the diner on the doc where Hook was waiting.

Hook didn't mind the chicken but the gumbo was not his cup of tea.

At that moment, someone approached Ariel, who pushed Hook back into the water.

"Uh-oh" Ariel gasped softly.

"Princess, what are you..." Hook tried to say, but Ariel shoved her foot into his mouth.

"Shh!"

It was Gothel and Cassandra. They tried to act if everything were normal.

"Have you seen a red codfish?" Cassandra asked.

"No" fibbed Ariel. "I've seen clown fish, reef fish and starfish, but I haven't seen any cod."

Gothel didn't like this. She knew Ariel was hiding something, then she took a closer look of the princess.

"You look so familiar" Gothel said, suspiciously. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

"I don't think so, but now that you mentioned it _you_ look familiar."

Cassandra eyed Ariel's foot that was in the water. It seemed like she was stepping on something... or someone.

But before she could take a good look, Gothel pushed Cassandra away from the doc.

"Come, Cassandra, we have better things to do" she said, winking her eye at Ariel.

The mermaid gasped in shock. She knew what the blink meant.

"She's gonna kill him" she said softly.

As soon as the two left, Hook resurfaced.

"What was all that about?" he growled to Ariel.

"There's two women looking for you" the mermaid replied. "A young girl with blue hair and an older woman."

"Is the older woman frightening beyond all reason?"

"Yes."

"It's Gothel and Cassandra! I'm saved!"

But before Ariel could stop him, Hook jumped out of the water and crawled up the hill to the diner.

* * *

Inside the diner, Gothel and Cassandra sat at a table.

"We've been walking around in circles for God knows how long" complained Gothel. "I should have done away with Hook myself when I had the chance."

Soon, Tiana walked over to their table.

"Welcome to Tiana's Palace" she greeted politely. "May I take your order?"

"Is there anything on this menu that isn't swimming in gravy?" asked Cassandra.

"Sorry, hun, all we have crispy chicken and tossed salad."

"I'll have just have a tossed salad."

Gothel only ordered a Scotch on the rocks.

Then, Tiana left them hollering to the chef.

"Ordering! I need two heartburns and a deep-fried doorstop on table twelve!"

* * *

Outside, Hook was close to the front door but Ariel grabbed him.

"What are you doing?" he struggled.

"Trust me" Ariel said, trying to be calm. "They're not here to save you."

"Aye, they are. They'll take me back to the palace. Thank you for your help, me dear princess."

Hook slipped out of Ariel's grip but she stepped on his tail fin.

"No, I won't let you go until you understand!" she cried. "They're trying to kill you!"

"You plot to strand me in the ocean?!" Hook shouted.

"No!"

"All you care about is your kingdom and the merfolk."

"No, that's not true. I don't just care for my people. I care for other people and creatures no matter who or what they are."

"You don't even care for me and I don't care about you."

Ariel's heart broke. The person she tried to be friends with as broke their just blossoming friendship.

"Hook..." she tried to say.

"Just go!" the codfish bellowed. "Get out of here!"

"FINE!"

The two walked away, on their own path.

Hook peeked through the window and saw Gothel and Cassandra eating.

"The entire mess is Varian's fault" Gothel growled. "If he hadn't caught the mice like he was supposed to, Hook would be dead by now! He must be disposed off. The empire is better off without him!"

"Of course, Mother" Cassandra said with a nod. "Besides, nobody really cares that he's gone."

Hearing this, Hook backed away from the window in fear and flopped away from the diner.

He searched the doc, looking for the one person who could help him.

"Ariel!" he called. "ARIEL!"

But the mermaid was already gone. And after he said to her that he never cared for her.

Hook knew that he should have listened, but he let his pride got in the way and drove the princess back to the ocean.

Devastated, Hook slipped into the ocean and swam away with no hope... and no way out from his own nightmare.

* * *

Later that night, Hook had found a place to rest in... the coral reef.

And that's how it all started.

_I didn't do anything_ Hook thought to himself, _they ruined my life and took everything I had._

Hook sighed and stared at his fins sadly.

"I swear, this is propelling me to delirium!" he moaned. "Narrator, can't you change me back?"

I'm sorry, Hook. There's nothing I can do.

Hook sniffled, then laid on the coral bed.

"I made a fool out of myself" he said to himself. "The princess was right."

The codfish shed a few tears until he fell into a deep sleep.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


	11. Chapter 11

Ariel was completely hurt emotionally as she swam through the ocean.

She saw Hook leave the docs with sadness in his eyes.

_He knows the truth_ she thought to herself.

But deep down, Ariel felt bad for feeling Hook. She was trying to be a friend to him and what did the selfish emperor do? He pushed her away.

Suddenly, she saw a large shadow of a rowboat moving across the ocean floor.

Curious, Ariel swam up to the surface and found Varian and Smee. They were tired from rowing and from the journey of searching for Hook.

"Must... row... back... to... palace..." Varian panted.

Ariel swam up to them.

"Excuse me" she said gently.

Varian and Smee jumped in surprise.

"Oh, hello, your Highness" stammered Smee, trying to be friendly. "Have you seen...?"

"Emperor Hook? Yes, he was with me not long ago."

"But where is he?" Varian asked.

Ariel explained to the two how she found Hook and their crazy adventure trying to get back to the palace, only for Hook to turn away on her.

"He tried to get help from Gothel?!" gasped Varian.

"He ran away?" Smee gulped.

Ariel nodded her head.

"And if we don't follow him, he could get into trouble with sea predators" she said.

"And my arms are tired from rowing" Varian added.

"Wait, I can pull you two for as long as I can and I will bring you to him."

With that, Smee and Varian handed the ropes from their rowboat and threw them into Ariel's arms.

The little mermaid pulled the rowboat and swam as fast as she could in the direction of where she saw Hook.

"Go, princess, go!" cheered Varian.

"To Emperor Hook!" Smee cried.

* * *

That night, Gothel and Cassandra were searching all over the dark sea for Hook.

"He has to be here somewhere" Gothel said.

Cassandra was tried of searching on land, then she had an idea.

"Mother, perhaps I should search in Atlanticia" she said to Gothel. "That's where Princess Ariel lives and she's probably hiding Hook there."

"You're right" Gothel said with an agreeable nod.

"But I can't swim, I'll wait for you in the palace once you have killed him."

Cassandra placed an oxygen tank/suit on herself and dove into the ocean.

She began singing to herself.

**_"_**_**There's a line between **__** the beggars and the choosers**_

_**Is a line he never let us quite ignore**_

_**How we've tried to jump that great divide!**_

_**But we've never got the chances he was given**_

_**Hook, you don't know how much I've been denied**_

_**Well, I'm not being patient anymore**_

**_We're crossing the line!_**

**_So get out of our way_**

**_'Cause Mother's not gonna play by your rules_**

**_It's our time to shine_**

**_We don't need your 'OK'_**

**_And I'm done being one of the fools_**

**_We're crossing that line_**

**_There are lines that we've been waiting in forever_**

**_There are lines I've always felt I had to toe_**

**_Some were blurry, some unseen_**

**_Some I've had to learn to read between_**

**_So many boundaries_**

**_Far more than you know!_**

**_But the line you think connects us both together?_**

**_That's a line that I'm not falling for again_**

**_'Cause this time my eyes are open wide_**

**_We've been trapped by lines you never had to live in_**

**_You were never really on our side_**

**_So I'm doing what we should have, way back when_**

**_We're crossing the line!_**

**_And we're done holding back_**

**_So look out, clear the track, it's our turn!_**

**_We're taking our golden mine_**

**_Every drop, every smidge_**

**_If I'm burning a bridge, let it burn!_**

**_But we're crossing the line..._**

**_As for us, Hook, we're over, that's fine..._**

**_We're crossing the line"_**

* * *

The next morning, Hook found himself in the open ocean, surrounded by thousands if not millions of colorful tropical reef fish.

Whenever he tried to say 'hello' or even waved a fin, the fish turned away from him.

To Hook, everything has changed now that he's a codfish. He would never be human again.

On the other hand, he didn't have to worry about his left hand that was cut off long ago before he was emperor.

Hook's stomach began to growl.

He hadn't had anything to eat last night and since human food is nowhere to be found, Hook stared at some sea snails crawling nearby.

With a heavy sigh, Hook picked up a sea snail. He groaned and shuddered. Then he slurped the snail straight out of its shell.

"Blech!" groaned Hook, looking literally green to the gills.

The taste was not so pretty but it would have to be worth it if this was his new life now.

Hook went to grab another sea snail, gulping it out of its shell and got the same result as before.

"Blech!"

Then, he heard a familiar voice from a far distance and swam toward it.

It was Ariel telling her story to a group of fish, who were eager to hear her story.

"So the edge of the rock started to crumble. And before I could fall down, he pulled me to safety. Can you imagine that? You know, call me strange for following this fella all the way out here, but as much as he tries to deny it, I know there's some good in him. Besides, I couldn't just leave him out here all alone. He's a lousy codfish. I mean, a really lousy codfish."

She then grinned at Hook, who was watching them.

Getting up, Ariel swam up to Hook.

"Ariel" Hook began to say. "I didn't mean what I said back at the docs, I didn't understand, I-"

She gently cupped Hook's mouth. She understood and forgave him.

"So, are you tired being a codfish?" she asked.

Hook sniffled and nodded 'yes' with tears in his eyes.

Ariel took his fin and they swam up to the rowboat on the surface. Hook immediately recognized the men in the boat.

"Smee, Varian!" Hook cried. "You found me!"

"Actually, it was Ariel who found us, Emperor" Smee said with a smile. "She led us to you."

With a very nervous grin, Hook climbed into the rowboat and hugged Smee.

"Thank you" Varian said to Ariel with a warm smile.

Ariel smiled back in response.

* * *

Varian and Smee brought Ariel and Hook to Atlanticia.

"We're just going to stop at the palace and get some supplies" Ariel said to the two men.

"And we'll be on our way, right?" Varian asked.

"Right."

But at that moment, Ariel moaned in pain.

"Ariel, what is it?" Varian asked nervously.

Ariel moaned again.

"She's coming" she said in pain.

"Who?" frowned Smee.

Hook then remembered what Ariel told him.

"She has a child coming!" he said. "We must get her to the palace immediately!"

He and Ariel dove into the ocean and swam as fast as they could.

_**To be continued...**_


	12. Chapter 12

All the daughters of Triton gathered as they waited outside their bedroom door.

"How long has Daddy and Mom have been in there with Ariel?" asked Andrina concernedly.

"It's only been five minutes" Attina replied.

"Too long if you ask me" Adella said.

Alana tried to peek through the curtains, but Attina pulled her away.

Then, there was a baby cry that filled the castle.

When Eric entered the room, he saw that Ariel was holding their newborn baby daughter.

He swam up to Ariel and held the baby in his arms.

"She's so beautiful" Eric said with a smile. "What's her name?"

"I've been thinking... Melody" Ariel replied. "My beautiful Melody."

"Melody it is."

Then, the mersisters swam into the room and cooed at the baby.

"Aww! She's so cute! She looks like Ariel! No, she looks like Eric."

Triton and Athena were so proud to see their first grandchild come into the world. They smiled at each other and embraced each other.

Peering out of the window in the hallway, Hook watched as Ariel's entire family gathered around to see Melody, a happy and innocent baby mermaid.

_I've never been so wrong in my life_ Hook thought to himself.

At that moment, there was a loud knock on the door.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"How could that be?" asked Triton.

"It could be Cassandra, Gothel's daughter" Ariel glared. "Please don't let her in."

Eric hasn't seen his wife in two or three days, so he knew something was wrong.

"Ariel, what is going on?" he asked.

The knocking was heard again.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Athena knew something was wrong then spoke with Ariel.

"Ariel, dear, would you, Eric and your father go in the other room and talk it over. Your sisters and I will stall her for you three to talk it over."

"Thanks, Mom" Ariel sighed.

Eric and Triton followed Ariel into the other room, with Melody in their sight.

Athena answered the door to Cassandra.

"May I help you?" she greeted politely.

"I'm looking for your daughter, Ariel" Cassandra replied.

"Oh, um, Ariel is not home right now but my husband and I could give you a tour of the palace when he comes back. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"I would love to."

Meanwhile in the throne room, Ariel told Eric and Triton everything that happened in her misadventures with Hook the codfish.

"So we have to get back to his palace, have Varian mix some antidote and change him back" Ariel finished.

Hook suddenly popped up from behind Triton's throne, trying to warn Ariel about Cassandra.

"Ariel, we need to-"

Jumped, Triton zapped Hook with his trident, covering the codfish in soot and ash. He almost looked like fried fish.

"Ouch" moaned Hook.

Ariel and Eric winched as Hook fainted to the ground.

"That was him" Ariel said.

Triton felt terrible and placed the trident away.

"Should we call the guards?" Eric asked.

Triton shook his head. "No, Athena and I can stall them long enough for Ariel to get a head start."

Sure he was worried about his youngest daughter, but Triton wanted what's best for her.

"Go, Ariel" he said to Ariel. "But keep the baby with you."

"I'll be fine, Daddy." Ariel replied, hugging her father. "Thank you."

She then kissed Eric and swam away with Melody in her arms.

Hook then rose from the ground and rubbed the soot out of his eyes.

"Ariel?"

"She's gone" Eric said, gesturing outside the castle.

Noticing at she's already gone, Hook swam up after her.

Back in the palace, Athena and Cassandra have finished their cup of tea when Triton and Eric entered the room.

"Welcome, Cassandra" Triton greeted politely. "Shall we start the tour?"

"Yes, we shall" Cassandra chuckled.

* * *

Up on the surface, Ariel climbed into the boat and changed into her human form, Melody still in her arms.

"Aww, a cute wee baby" cooed Smee.

"Thanks, but we need to go" Ariel said. "My parents can't hold Cassandra for long."

Nodding in agreement, Smee and Varian rowed as fast as they could with Hook swimming beside them.

"Are you sure it's a good plan to leave your family with Cassandra?" asked the codfish.

"Oh, don't worry" Ariel replied. "They can handle themselves."

* * *

Back in Atlanticia, Triton and Athena had tricked Cassandra into entering a closet, locking her in.

"What do you mean the door is stuck?" asked Athena. "Try jiggling the handle."

"There _is _no handle in here" Cassandra growled from inside the closet. "Now, tell me where the giant codfish is or I'll burn your palace to the ground."

"How can you burn it?" mocked Alana. "We're under the sea."

Cassandra was enraged. She then made black rocks break the door down.

Triton had his trident ready and aimed it at Cassandra as she swam out of the closet.

ZAP!

The oxygen tank/suit was destroyed and Cassandra was starting to lose air.

Panicking, Cassandra swam as fast as she could until she was finally up to the surface with a loud gasp.

"Merpeople" coughed Cassandra, before noticing the rowboat heading for the village.

And the race for the palace was on!

The rowboat that carried Hook, Ariel, Varian and Smee bounced through the ocean while Cassandra was running as fast as she could on her black rock shaped bridge.

At the village, Ariel held Melody close to her and made a quick run through the busy street, then run up the stairs.

Smee and Varian, on the other hand, covered Hook in a blanket like a daily old fish in newspaper and followed Ariel up the stairs.

Seeing this, Cassandra seethed with anger and made a staircase around the mountains, only to run out of energy and powers and collapsed into a treetop.

Hook, Ariel, Smee and Varian continued on to the palace.

_**To be continued...**_

_**Only two more chapters to go!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Happy New Year, everyone!**_

_**We're almost through with this crossover, only one more chapter after this!**_

* * *

When they got inside the palace, Hook, Ariel, Smee and Varian have managed to sneak past the guards and got to the lever that lead to the Secret Lab.

"Good thing I remembered which lever it was this time" Varian said.

"That crocodile you keep better not be there" Hook moaned. "Why would she keep him there? It's not a dog!"

"She likes predators by her side, sire."

He then pulled the correct lever and they were thrown into the roller coaster-like seat.

A loud announcer then spoke through a loud speaker.

"**Please remained seated and keep your arms and legs in at all times.**"

The seat started to move, running through animal faces and a tunnel.

Hook, Ariel, Smee and Varian screamed in their seat until they landed in the secret lab.

They searched high and low for the human potion.

"What does it look like?" asked Ariel.

"I don't know, just keep looking" Hook replied worriedly.

Varian then remembered where he kept all of his vials. He opened a cabinet filled with multicolored vials.

"Over here in my secret stash of potions!" he called. "It has to be one of these. Lions... tigers... bears..."

"Oh, my" whimpered Smee.

It wasn't until Varian found the human vial and handed it to Hook.

"This is the one, sire. This will change you back into a human."

Chuckling, Hook was about to open the vial when...

"Hello, Hook."

Gothel entered the room with Cassandra close behind her.

"No, it can't be!" Smee gasped.

Now, please don't ask how Cassandra got to the palace before them, by all accounts of her running of energy, it doesn't make any sense.

Oh, well, back to business.

Ariel hid Melody from Gothel as the old woman approached Hook, trying to snatch the vial from him but she couldn't.

"I was not nice as I should have been" Hook admitted. "But, Gothel, do you really want to kill me?"

"Well, you have a deep hatred for merpeople when you've done nothing to them" Gothel chuckled with an evil grin. "But I did."

Ariel's eyes widen in shock, horror.

"The merpeople have protected our kingdom as we protected them, but now Supai will snuff out the light in exchange for my eternal youth and destroy all of the magic in the land. Magic makes people feel too powerful, too entitled. It makes them think they can defy the will of a King or a Queen."

Hook, Varian and Smee were enraged of the truth.

"That is not what magic does" Ariel said to Gothel. "That's just your fear. Fear is not what can't be trusted."

"Then, I bet you weren't expecting this!" Gothel replied, revealing a knife in her garter.

Cassandra pulled out her sword and raised it high into the air.

"No!" shouted Varian. "Cass, Gothel, we don't have to do this!"

But Gothel didn't listen and raised her knife to kill Hook.

Thinking fast, Varian pushed Gothel's arm up and pushed it against the wall, cutting a rope to the chandelier above them.

The chandelier was about to fall on top of Cassandra, who ran as fast as she could to move out of the way but fell to the ground unconscious from the impact of the chandelier landing on her lower body.

Varian cheered himself and Smee patted his shoulder, proud of him.

"And don't worry, she's not dead" Varian reassured. "She'll wake up in the next three hours."

But then, the two fell through a trapdoor, screaming.

"Now, give me that vial!" Gothel demanded.

She tried to pull it from Hook's fins but Ariel pushed her away.

Gothel growled as Ariel placed the human vial in her dress pocket and buttoned it.

"Let's go!" Ariel cried, carrying Melody.

Enraged, Gothel pulled a lever and an alarm sounded.

The doors opened and thousands of guards arrived, making Ariel and Hook gasp in shock.

"Kill them!" Gothel ordered. "They murdered the Emperor!"

Thinking quickly, Ariel pushed a table of vials and potions toward the guards, making her escape with Hook while they turned into different animals.

"Get them!" screamed Gothel.

"Hey... I have... been..." said a guard named Flash.

"Turned into a sloth?"

"Turned... into... a... sloth... Can... I..."

"Take a break?"

"Go... home...?"

"You're excused."

Flash walked away, very, very slowly that the other guards were annoyed and they pushed him out quickly.

"Anyone else?" asked Gothel.

"No, we're good" answered the other guards.

"Good, now... GET THEM!"

The animal guards chased Ariel and Hook throughout the castle.

"We need to change me back!" Hook panicked.

"But we can't change you now!" protested Ariel.

"Why?"

Ariel wanted to tell Hook that if he changed back now, he would be nude but she decided not to.

"Um, just because" she fibbed.

But then, Hook remembered something.

"Wait, the canals" he muttered. "We can take the canal."

He jumped into the water, making Ariel jump after him and turn back into a mermaid.

In the canal, Hook swam as fast as he could with Ariel trying to catch up.

"Quick, drain the canals!" Gothel ordered the guards.

Hook and Ariel swam across the canal then reached the secret passageway to the emperor's bedchambers, just as the canal was drained.

"There they go, after them!" Gothel ordered.

The animal guards were unsure of what to do.

"Come on, men!" shouted Finnick, a small fennec fox. "Nobody lives forever! Charge!"

The guards yelled as they charged through the canal, only to slide down the drain and fell down to their deaths.

But don't worry, no animals were harmed during this crossover.

Gothel growled, then broke down one of Cassandra's black shards with an axe to get across and raced through the secret passageway.

"If you want something done right" Gothel growled. "You've got to do it yourself!"

She was going in for the kill.

_**To be continued...**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**So here we are... at the climax and conclusion of our story.**_

* * *

"Okay, we should be safe in here" Hook said, laying on the bed.

"And we better hurry" Ariel agreed, "Gothel will find us any moment."

At that moment, Gothel entered the room and threw a black vial to the ground.

"NO!" cried Ariel.

At an instant, Supai the Incan god of darkness emerged from the shattered vial and laughed evilly.

Hook and Ariel were shocked as Supai flew out of the bedchambers and started to spread darkness across the entire land.

Gothel suddenly regained her youth.

Chuckling, Gothel took the potion from Hook.

"Now, I'm back to my beautiful self I can rule the land with an iron fist" she said, grinning evilly. "And as for you, Hook, I'm going to kill you."

Scared, Hook tried to open the human potion but he can't.

With him distracted, Gothel pulled out her dagger, ready to kill the codfish.

"No!" cried Ariel.

The mermaid knocked Gothel down to the ground, losing the dagger.

Ariel placed Melody on the bed and looked into the drawer, searching.

She finally found a grappling hook and a corkscrew, which she handed to Hook.

"Just drink the potion" Ariel said. "I've gotta bring back the sun."

Hook took the corkscrew and used it to try and open the potion.

Ariel held the grappling hook and ran out of the bedchamber.

As Hook continued to try and open the vial, Melody babbled and giggled at him.

"Hello" Hook smiled, staring at the child.

Distracted by the baby, Hook failed to noticed Cassandra behind him. She was about to stab him with her sword.

Melody pointed and made a panicky sound to alert Hook.

Hook turned and dodged Cassandra's sword.

Then, he jumped up and slapped Cassandra with his tail fin, knocking her unconscious.

* * *

Outside the palace, she noticed Supai surrounding the sun.

Shocked, Ariel threw the grappling hook at the demon and tried to pull it away from the sun.

Supai fought back like a tiger.

Ariel was overwhelmed.

_If only I had Daddy's __trident_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Inside the palace, Varian entered the room.

"Sire, where's Ariel?" he asked.

This made Hook panic and handed Melody to Varian, hopping away.

"But the potion!" Varian panicked.

Hook, however, had to help Ariel. He somehow knew that she couldn't fight Supai alone.

Varian was worried for Hook but held Melody close as he watched his emperor leave the bedchamber.

* * *

Outside, Ariel tried to fight Supai, but being a mortal, she was unsuccessful.

Before Supai could harm Ariel, Hook arrived and shined a light at it, destroying the Incan god.

"Yes!" cheered Ariel.

Hook smiled at the mermaid, who suddenly gasped.

"Wait, who's watching the baby?" she asked.

"Don't worry" Hook replied. "Varian's watching her."

Ariel sighed in relief, then she and Hook returned to the bedchamber.

Varian handed the human potion to Hook but then...

Gothel snatched it!

Cackling, Gothel held the potion high over Hook's head.

"I win" she sneered.

Smee suddenly appeared behind Gothel and knocked her out with a frying pan.

The vial went flying and Melody caught it despite being a baby.

"Got it!" Ariel said, gently taking the vial from her daughter. "Good girl, Melody."

Smee and Varian cheered, hugging Hook, who chuckled.

They laughed and laughed and laughed until... they saw Ariel saw them.

Embarrassed, the trio backed away and cleared their throats. Hook climbed onto the bed and waited.

"Here, um, lemme get it for you" Varian said.

He pulled the cork out and handed the vial to Hook.

With a grateful smile, Hook gazed at Ariel then he took a sip of the potion.

POOF!

In cloud of smoke, Hook was human again.

Covered by the blanket on the bed, Hook gawked in surprise as he felt his way; no scales, no fins and two legs.

"It's finally me again!" cried Hook. "I'm back!"

He hugged Smee and ruffled Varian's hair.

But he stopped and noticed... a full left hand grew on the stub where his hook was.

"But how...?" he began to ask.

"Because fish can grow back their fins within four to six weeks" Ariel replied. "I should know. It happened to several fish I know."

"But I was in the ocean for days."

"Actually, sire, the potion has quicker affects" Varian said. "It took you a few days to regrow your damaged fin."

Hook was surprised but realized that he could his left hand once again and started touching objects with it.

* * *

After a few adjustments and a change of clothes, Hook was now an emperor who ruled the land with justice and kindness.

He apologized to those he treated wrong and changed for the better.

One day, Hook noticed Ariel sitting in the throne room, waiting and cradling Melody in her arms.

She was asked to be brought to the palace for a reason.

The emperor knew he had to reconcile with her and hopefully earn the merpeople's forgiveness.

"Ahem, milady" Hook said, clearing his throat. "I believe you have lied to me."

Ariel noticed Hook and frowned a little.

"How?" she asked.

"Well, you said when the sun gleams above the water and beyond the reef, the sea sings her song" Hook replied. "Sadly, I was brought to the reef and I did not hear the sea sing."

Ariel smiled. She knew that Hook has changed for the better.

"Couldn't pull the wool over your eyes, hmm?" she chuckled.

"No, I found out for meself" Hook replied. "It seems like Gothel lied to me long ago and asked for a war against you and your family."

After a moment, Hook sat down next to Ariel and played with Melody, who played with his right hand.

"You know, my family and I are having a celebration later today" Ariel finally said. "In case you're interested."

"Hmm..."

* * *

Later that day, Hook was brought to Atlanticia where he met all the merpeople of the kingdom. He even apologized to Triton and Athena for his threats against them.

Throughout the day, Hook swam with Ariel, Eric and all of her sisters, ate sea food (despite it was not his cup of tea) and better yet, he earned the merpeople's forgiveness and became Melody's godfather.

Everything has changed ever since the adventure; Hook was named honorary codfish of Atlanticia...

"Excuse me" Hook frowned, breaking the forth wall.

Opp, sorry, Hook. Just kidding. I meant honorary ally to Atlanticia.

Smee became the new royal adviser, Varian was named the palace's alchemist and inventor, Blinky became a 'guard dog' as a thanks for switching the poison and was given all the fruit he wanted. The servants who disliked Hook and followed Gothel changed their ways, seeing the good in their emperor once again.

It was a happy ending for everyone.

Whatever happened to Gothel and Cassandra you may ask?

Well... Cassandra was stripped of her moonstone powers and was banished to the mountains, never to return until she finds the good within her. As for Gothel, she was charged for treason and sent to exile. They were never to be seen or heard from, never to darken the sunny days again!

_**THE END!**_


End file.
